NBA Rumors: Miami Heat looking to push for 2x NBA finalist

Jae Crowder has been on the Miami Heat's radar for a while now. While no trade has materialized yet, recent rumors suggest that the Heat will "re-energize" their pursuit to acquire the Phoenix Suns forward.

Talks between the Heat and the Suns have been unfruitful thus far. With Phoenix rejecting Miami's offer involving Duncan Robinson, the Heat have had to rethink their approach towards trade negotiations.

In this regard, The Athletic's Shams Charania reports that the Miami Heat are likely to "re-energize" their pursuit of Crowder. He wrote:

"The [Atlanta] Hawks and Heat also are interested in Crowder, and Miami is expected to have a re-energized pursuit soon because it has a slew of players, such as Dewayne Dedmon and Victor Oladipo, available to be traded starting Thursday.

"The [Milwaukee] Bucks could continue to seek a third team to facilitate a trade for Crowder, which would be a homecoming of sorts for the Georgia native who played his college ball at Marquette."

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Several reports have suggested that the Heat are in search of a power forward. While names such as Kyle Kuzma and Bojan Bogdanovic have become relatively commonplace, Miami seems to have its eyes set on a former rotation player.

The Heat have been closely linked with Crowder for the better part of the regular season. Crowder was a key element of the team during their Finals run in the 2020 NBA playoffs, which could be a reason for Miami looking to bring him back on board.

The forward's situation with the Phoenix Suns has also been fairly well-documented. Given the climate in the Suns organization along with Cam Johnson's development, Crowder opted to sit out of team activities until he was traded.

This was made clear ahead of training camp, but Phoenix has failed to close a deal involving Crowder.

An interesting aspect of the trade happens to be the trade window opening on December 15. With several teams looking for opportunities to move free-agent signings from the offseason, trades are bound to take place.

In this regard, Charania reported that the Heat may include pieces such as Dewayne Dedmon and Victor Oladipo in talks for Jae Crowder. However, Miami may face some stiff competition as the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks also appear to be suitors for the Suns forward.

The Miami Heat could benefit from trading for Jae Crowder

Jae Crowder in conversation with Jimmy Butler during their time together with the Miami Heat

The Miami Heat aren't exactly in the position they would want to be at this point of the season. After a string of losses, the Heat find themselves ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference.

Although they came away with a 87-82 win against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, they only managed to improve to 13-15 for the season. The Heat have maintained that they are title contenders, but need to start stringing together wins with some consistency.

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Miami has faced a lot of internal criticism for their recent performances. While toughness has never been an issue for the Heat, the team could benefit from someone who can add to the team's character.

Jae Crowder was vital to the team during their Finals run in the Bubble. As a 3&D specialist, Crowder also brings a lot of value to the team, even as an undersized 4.

The Miami Heat's approach towards trading Duncan Robinson has been well-documented. If they can manage to sweeten the deal with a few more pieces, they could aggressively pursue trade negotiations for Crowder.